Digitalising and decarbonising in pursuit of net zero
AESSEAL® are leading in the design and manufacture of mechanical seals and seal support systems that improve pump reliability and reduce maintenance. Operating in 104 countries, across 9 manufacturing sites and 44 repair locations, the company has been making efforts towards decarbonisation for a long time, but four years ago they set a (scope 1 and 2) net zero target to 2029.Their challenge is growing the business while reducing emissions, and while their leadership was already on board, their staff was yet to be fully involved. To overcome this, they hired an international development manager, a full-time data analyst and two sustainability officers to gather and monitor emissions data, using sensors and metering.
Digitalisation has been very important to AESSEAL. They have a digital roadmap, use online quoting tools and are reducing site visits, along with paper consumption in favour of online promotional materials. To further bring the workforce on board, they are introducing internal carbon literacy training, mandatory for all branch managers, to provide workers with a sense of why their net zero efforts are important and how they can improve work in this space.
In 2022, the business grew 20% but scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased. As part of scope 3 emissions, employee commuting and business travel will be refined. A staff survey will enable the business to find out employees’ mode of travel to work, the distance travelled and their shift patterns.
The company recognises the importance of international business travel (scope 1) which can be estimated accurately by capturing all data and working out emissions from flights, trains, ferries and hotel stays. The firm’s frequent flyer staff now have maximum emission targets signed off by the director. Obtaining this data from global sites is a challenge as this is new to them, so a sustainability champion was appointed at each site to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions quarterly.
AESSEAL also say that working with suppliers is key, especially since their scope 3 emissions slightly increased because of the products and services category. As part of this cooperation, they audit their top 40 suppliers annually (via questionnaires) to collect more granular data to refine their scope 3 output. They also organise a supplier open day to present what they are doing in sustainability, so that they can anticipate new requirements. Their sales team has also communicated this to customers who have taken a huge interest and are very engaged with AESSEAL.